


Meet Me in the In-Between

by Bensoloisback



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Deserved Better, Ben Solo Lives, Canon Compliant, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Visions, Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, The Force, World Between Worlds, saving what you love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:28:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22112614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bensoloisback/pseuds/Bensoloisback
Summary: Rey is sad. Ben is in the WBW. Reunite them challenge 2020.This is my first ever fic, and I am so excited to share it with you. Since this is my first fic, I am still figuring out tags and storylines, everything is subject to change, including the fic rating. If you have any suggestions for tags I should add please let me know!
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Reylo





	1. Nothingness

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read, I just wanted to give you a heads up about a few quick things regarding plot:
> 
> 1\. This story picks up after Rey arrives on Tatooine and sees Luke and Leia's force ghost. Nyx the part where she buries the lightsabers and speaks with the old woman, those won't apply to this story.
> 
> 2\. This is NOT a TROS rewrite, it is a post-canon sequel fix-it. I will be working off most of the canon material from TROS, but with a few changes here and there, please forgive any plot holes that may arise lmao, it could become pretty canon divergent if I'm not careful.
> 
> 3\. The first chapter is a little short, but there is much more in store for the chapters to come ;) 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

_Chapter Summary:_

Rey has some thoughts n stuff on Tattooine and we find out what Ben has been up to since he fucking d*ed. Also rey hasn’t buried the lightsabers yet, but luke and leia have already stopped in to say “hey” to her. 

\-------------------

  
  


_Nothing._

  
  


_Nothing, nothing, and more nothing._

  
  


_Maybe I deserve this… I probably deserve this._

  
  


_I_ definitely _deserve this. In life it was mostly nothingness too._

_Except rey..._

_._

_._

_._

_._

The desert breeze swept itself across Rey’s cheeks as she watched the twin suns of Tattoine descend below the horizon. She wasn’t sure why she visited this place, what some had so egregiously called the “iconic” Lars Homestead. From the whispers she had heard during her time with the resistance, it seemed like Ben’s family held no affection for the planet.

_Why am I not surprised? Desert planets aren’t exactly known for being the happiest places. I’d consider myself an expert on the subject. Maybe burying the lightsabers here isn’t such a good idea after all._

It felt like it had been hours since she had last looked away from the horizon; was it the hostile beauty of the familiar deserts keeping her there? Or was it something deeper? The clinging thread of belonging she has been searching for, frayed and hollow, bringing her full circle to exactly where she began her journey only a year or so ago? She didn’t want to ponder it too long. She knew her pain was a threat to sound mind, and would pull her down, down, down, like the sinking fields tended to do to it’s unsuspecting victims. 

“Breep boop?” BB-8 stirred in the sand next to Rey, pulling her out of her thoughts at just the right moment.

“I’ll be alright BB, one day. It’s starting to get dark, maybe we should call it a night here, rest up, and see the stars in the morning. That alright?”

“Beeeep!”

“Good, come on then.”

.

.

.

.

Out of the darkness a sudden blinding flash of light appeared, followed by yet another hard fall to the ground for Ben Solo... wait, could it even be called the “ground”? When his eyes finally opened, all he could see was what looked like a never-ending black void, but out of the corner of his eye he could detect a soft white glow, he suspected it was just his eyes readjusting-

_Have I gone blind? Where am I? Why is it so quiet?_

He struggled at first, to remember how to move. He wasn’t even sure he had a consciousness a few moments ago, much less an actual body. Slowly he regained his senses; he felt his cheek and naked body pressed to the mysterious surface, it felt cold. He became aware of his limbs, and came to notice the chilling echoes and whispers that this place emitted, he hadn’t noticed them before. 

He gathered the strength to roll on to his back, knowing he likely couldn’t prepare himself for whatever he would see when he did. He had been right.

  
  


_This is… something else._

A vast, unending chamber greeted him, as far as the eye could see there were curved pathways outlined by the exact soft glow that had given him hope this wasn’t just an empty void. Ben dared a look over the edge of where he layed, the pathways didn’t end. Up, down, everywhere he looked he could see them. He pulled himself to sit and marveled at the place. He sat there for some time just observing, and listening. 

He noticed large shapes forming at the ends of pathways, and the intimidating fact that there were no turbolifts between the endless levels. The voices he heard here were much different from the ones that had been tormenting him since birth; They were more jumbled and nonsensical, but less insidious, a small relief.

_“_ At least this time they’re tolerable”. The sound of his own voice startled him; abandoning his train of thought. When his mind started up again, only one thing popped into his head. He called out with desperation-

“REY!”

.

.

.

.


	2. A Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some weird shit happens when Rey wakes up and Ben tries to figure out what the fuck this void place is all about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first ever fic, and I am so excited to share it with you. Since this is my first fic, I am still figuring out tags and storylines, everything is subject to change, including the fic rating. If you have any suggestions for tags I should add please let me know!

\-------------

.

.

.

.

“REY!”

She must have had a nightmare; Rey found herself paralyzed, for a moment. Her thoughts were foggy and incoherent, and her skin chilled and clammy. She knew that voice, it felt like a wrench in her hollow gut. 

She croaked out his name in a whisper, “Ben…”.

_It couldn’t really have been him, he’s gone, isn’t he? His body faded, but he wasn’t there with Leia and Luke._

Rey had been doing this with herself since that day, running circles around her own thoughts to find some rationalization for his death. The battle of Exogol was called a victory, and it was. But for Rey, it was a hollow one. None of the quick research she had done so far explained why Ben hadn’t visited her through the force, as Luke and Leia had. It just didn’t make any sense. She couldn’t tell if it was the need for justification, or if the force was trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe that he was gone. She still felt him there, somehow, muted and still. 

_I have to be imagining it. I watched him die, felt his body go cold, watched him fade away. Ben… please come back to me, I never wanted you dead! I wanted you here, with me! I’m sorry that you’re gone because of me, this is my fault. Please Ben, be with me, hear me, talk to me!!_

Rey waited for something, a sign, anything. 

Nothing.

  
  


_FUCK. This is ridiculous. Stop dwelling on it he’s gone and you just have to accept tha-_

Without warning, she was thrown into a vision, the images seemed to present themselves all at once, but lasted an eternity. Snoke’s cleaved lifeless body, a gloved hand, the broken legacy saber, a warm fire, Ben’s smile, a page in the jedi texts, a web of glowing avenues, a voice- _I’ll come back for you sweetheart… rey._

The vision subsided, and rey found herself lying in the same spot she had been before. She had come to Tatooine to bury the sabers, let the past die, as it were. She couldn’t bring herself to do it now, it felt wrong, their journey wasn’t over yet. 

A rare sense of optimism, and confusion overcame her, she thought she had gone mad. But no, now she knew she had to take action. Jumping up to her feet she took one last look at the desert horizon and thought to herself,

_Waiting on a desert planet forever didn’t work the first time, and it most certainly won’t now. Time to do what I know best..._

She spoke, “BB-8, get the ship ready, please. We're going on a scavenger hunt.”

.

.

.

.

"REY!"

Ben waited for a response, he thought he was mistaken when he heard the faint whisper of his true name, calling out to him from a place he couldn’t find. He took a moment to breathe, and focus. He channeled all he could into clearing his mind, and focusing on the light that he had so long tried to shove down. 

_If there ever was a time to be optimistic it’s now, right?_

He could feel the faint thread of Rey’s presence through their dyad bond, humming a quiet note, almost un-noticeably. 

_Rey… was that you? Can you hear me? I can feel you, be with me… please._

The connection went as quick as it came, and it was back to the unintelligible whispers of the void. Resigning himself to his aloneness, Ben dared to take a few steps forward; he still couldn’t wrap his mind around what was supporting his weight here, he couldn’t trust anything, not yet... if ever.

_Is this all just a vision?_

Step by step, Ben began to make his way toward the nearest glowing shape, it appeared as though the pathways were contracting and stretching as he moved, distorting their length in a way his eyes couldn’t quite perceive. Finally, he had reached the end. Before him, thin white glowing lines formed the shape of a large circle, with smaller shapes and symbols adorning the edges. 

With an expression of awe he whispered to himself, “What is this? I’ve never seen anything like it…”

As his words trailed off, he risked an outward reach toward the strange doorway. He was expecting to meet the same coldness he felt on his cheeks when he woke up here. Ben watched his fingertips slowly disappear beyond the threshold…

In a flash, the shape lit up in bright white, red, and orange. 

_What the-_

He snatched his arm back, startled by what he was witnessing. He felt a wave of heat radiate toward him. When he looked again, the image in the doorway had become more clear and solid. As far as the eye could see was a seething river of lava, and there, in the distance, was the unmistakable shape of Fortress Vader. 

.

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.

\----------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my first fic!
> 
> Like I said before, if you have any comments or suggestions for me please let me know! I am also on twitter @BenSoloIsBack, feel free to stop in and say hi there too!
> 
> I love you Reylos, we will make it through these dark times together <3


	3. Thinking Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben ponders the weird door thing and Rey does some thinking stuff on the falcon. also sorry this chapter is so short the next one will be longer I promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS PLS FORGIVE ME. I cannot promise consistency but I am going to try to push myself to put out more chapters of this. I have some new Ideas ;)
> 
> This is my first ever fic, and I am so excited to share it with you. Since this is my first fic, I am still figuring out tags and storylines, everything is subject to change, including the fic rating. If you have any suggestions for tags I should add please let me know!

* * *

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.

.

.

Ben couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

He had seen countless images of Vader's infamous castle on old datapads from before his time, including ones of the unmistakably terrifying lava river… So, logically he knew what he was looking at but doubted himself still,

_ Is that… Mustafar? No, It can’t be, I was just there. It looks so different though….  _

Ben was puzzled, which was not an uncommon occurrence as of late, to say the least. After several long moments of thought something strange occurred to him, but he spoke it aloud to himself instead.

“There’s no way this can be the same Mustafar I just visited, that was only a couple days ago, but that’s up for debate, if time even means anything here, that is-- Wait.  _ Time. That's... _ ”

He pondered this idea...What he was looking at was a much different picture than the Mustafar he had visited so recently. For one, the trees surrounding the ruins of Vader’s castle were nowhere to be found. On top of that though, the ruins weren’t ruins at all. He was looking directly at Fortress Vader in all its former glory. 

_ So…. the real question isn’t where, but when? _

He dared another reach through the doorway, just like before his hand passed through unharmed. He wasn’t sure he could stomach walking through it, but the temptation was there. Considering his current circumstances he wasn’t sure anything could really be that bad of an idea, but something about stepping into the literal past made his stomach turn. His own past was bad enough, and he couldn’t imagine that this would be any more pleasant. 

_ We’ll leave that one alone for now. But hell, now I’m curious where- I mean, when, these other ones lead to.  _

He set off on the distorted path again, with the strict intent of shoving his hand through each door just to get a peek of what lay on the other side. 

_ Maybe I’ll find something else I recognize, if I open enough of them.  _

  
  
  


_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

Rey was determined. 

There was no mistake that these strange dreams and visions meant something, she just had to figure out where to start. Luckily, she had a lot of time to think on her journey back to base from Tatooine. 

Leaving the atmosphere of the desolate sand planet had felt like a breath of fresh air, ignoring the ancient odors embedded into the Falcon itself, of course; Though, she had never minded it, it made her appreciate the ship more, it had a history. She knew this ship belonged to her now, but it never escaped her that it really belonged to someone else too. She wished she could share it with him, explore the galaxy together...

_ Ben… _

His name materializing in her mind, she was again reminded of his absence, of the home she had felt with him, of how he had been ripped away before she could even blink, all things she couldn’t process as real. She wouldn’t let herself dwell on that now though, she was on a mission right? There was research to be done if she was going to figure this out.

Pulling herself from her thoughts she called out to BB8 who had been running some routine repairs below-deck, “Wanna help me study some datapads?”.

She proceeded to spend the rest of the journey with her face glued to the screen frantically searching for any minute detail that could help her. She tried to stay positive, she could fix this... maybe, hopefully-

_ If it kills me. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my first fic!
> 
> Like I said before, if you have any comments or suggestions for me please let me know! I am also on twitter @BenSoloIsBack, feel free to stop in and say hi there too!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my first fic!
> 
> Like I said before, if you have any comments or suggestions for me please let me know! I am also on twitter @BenSoloIsBack, feel free to stop in and say hi there too!
> 
> I love you Reylos, we will make it through these dark times together <3


End file.
